News

Meet BRIDGES’ New Board Member, Danish Siddiqui

Posted by knetzler on Jan 31, 2017

In January of 2017, we welcomed a new member to the BRIDGES board of trustees, Danish Siddiqui. Danish grew up in Memphis and attended K-12 in Shelby County public schools, then graduated from the University of Memphis with a BBA in Management Information Systems. He now works as a senior manager of technology for a major local corporation.

Since his graduation, Danish has founded and served as a board member for more than a dozen nonprofits, both locally and nationally. His work has focused on uniting faith and ethnic communities, promoting social justice and civil rights, assisting immigrant communities, and ensuring government works for all Americans. In his free time, Danish enjoys spending time with family, friends, photography, travel, and watching basketball, especially the Memphis Tigers and Grizzlies.

Danish is active in many Muslim organizations, including as co-founder and a former board member of the Memphis Islamic Center, Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, Muslim Students Association of Memphis, Memphis Interfaith, American Muslim Advisory Council, and the American Center for Outreach. The latter two organizations operate statewide. Danish uses his technology expertise and talents to assist numerous organizations.

5 Questions With Danish Siddiqui:

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?I would guess much older. Towards the end of my freshman year at U of M, I was elected board president of a local mosque. The issues and people I encountered before I even cleared my teens accelerated my “growing up” phase of life.

2. What’s your personality type, and how does it influence your leadership in the community?Myers-Briggs puts me right in the middle of introversion and extroversion, and I see how that plays out in my involvement in the community. I enjoy working with and helping others, but other times I need time to myself to recharge.

3. #HumbleBrag: What hobbies and talents do you keep on the down low?Photography. I do it for enjoyment, my personal creativity, and for family use. I don’t share much. Every now and then I might help a friend or an organization by taking photos.

4. What’s your personal motto?To lead, be sincere, be honest, be grateful, and look for the best in every situation.

5. You volunteer your time to a ton of amazing community organizations already… Why BRIDGES?BRIDGES has been doing outstanding work for many years, and its reputation precedes it. I strongly believe in developing young leaders and have been personally mentoring willing people in my community for some years. It was a natural fit and an honor to be asked. After Cynthia [Ham, BRIDGES President and CEO] mentioned the opportunity, she gave me some time to think it over. What made me feel at ease was when I met again with her and Dan [Hatzenbuehler, BRIDGES Board Chair], both didn’t flinch when I discussed my other involvement. Instead they offered to help me in any way possible. That’s rare, and I knew I couldn’t say no.